Tag Archives: employer compliance

By Michael Berwanger,JD, Director, Quality Management & Compliance

The IRS has announced good-faith transition relief for information reporting on Forms 1094 and 1095 for the 2017 tax year, mirroring guidance it provided for the 2016 tax year (see IRS Notice 2018-06 HERE).

Some notable highlights include:

Extension for Furnishing Statements to Individuals.

The deadline for furnishing Forms 1095-B and 1095-C to individuals is extended by 30 days, from January 31 to March 2, 2018. There is no action necessary from self-funded health plans to take advantage of this extension, it is automatic.

Due to this extension, the discretionary 30-day extension is not available, and no further extensions may be obtained by application to the IRS.

No Extension for Filing Returns with the IRS.

The notice does not extend the due date for filing Forms 1094-B and 1094-C (and accompanying Forms 1095) with the IRS. Accordingly, the deadline remains February 28, 2018, for paper filings, and April 2, 2018, for electronic filings (see “2017 Forms 1094, 1095 B & C Released by IRS“).

Please note, electronic filing is mandatory for entities required to file 250 or more Forms 1095. However, filers may obtain an automatic 30-day extension by filing Form 8809 on or before the regular due date.

Good Faith Penalty Relief.

The IRS will again provide penalty relief for entities that can show they have made good faith efforts at compliance.

The IRS reports that no penalties will be imposed on entities that report incorrect or incomplete information, either on statements furnished to individuals or returns filed with the IRS, if they can show they made good faith efforts to comply with the reporting requirements.

The notice specifies that the relief applies to missing and inaccurate taxpayer identification numbers and dates of birth, as well as other required information.

Penalty relief is not available to entities that fail to furnish statements or file returns, miss an applicable deadline, or are otherwise not making good faith efforts to comply.

Evidence of good faith efforts may include gathering necessary data and transmitting it to a third-party to prepare the required reports, testing the ability to transmit data to the IRS, and taking steps to ensure compliance for the 2018 tax year.

Those unable to meet the due dates are still encouraged to furnish and file as soon as possible, as the IRS says it will take such furnishing and filing into consideration when determining whether to abate penalties for reasonable cause.

Reasonable cause is distinct from good faith relief and requires, among other things, proof of significant mitigating factors or events beyond the reporting entity’s control.

MedCost is not a tax preparation company, and you may have additional tax obligations for other benefit plans that you offer to your employees. Please consult with your tax adviser for guidance.

By Michael Berwanger,JD, Director, Quality Management & Compliance

The IRS has released the final Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C for calendar year 2017 reporting. Employers are required to report in early 2018 for calendar year 2017. You can find the forms for calendar year 2017 reporting here:

What Changed?

For calendar year 2017, the 6055 and 6056 reporting process seems to have stabilized. One notable difference, please note the removal of the “Section 4980H Transition Relief” box from line 22 of Form 1094-C, as this transition relief is no longer available to employers.

There are no substantive changes to the B Forms for 2017, and the instructions are also mostly unchanged.

For purposes of determining affordability of employer-sponsored coverage when using the Qualified Offer method, the instructions note inflation adjustments to the 9.5% threshold, increasing the percentage to 9.66% for plan years beginning in 2016 and 9.69% for plan years beginning in 2017. (This percentage will drop to 9.56% for plan years beginning in 2018. See IRS Publication for details.)

Note: Self-insuring employers with less than 50 full-time or full-time equivalent employees will use these forms to report information on coverage to the IRS and to covered individuals. Self-insuring employers with 50 or more full-time or full-time equivalent employees will use the C forms—see below.

1094-C and 1095-C:

Applicable large employers (generally those with 50 or more full-time employees, including full-time equivalents or FTEs) will use Forms 1094-C and 1095-C to report information to the IRS and to their employees about their compliance with the employer-shared responsibility provisions (“pay or play”) and the health care coverage they have offered. Employers subject to both reporting provisions (generally self-insured employers with 50 or more full-time employees, including FTEs) will satisfy their reporting obligations using the C Forms.

Information Reporting Deadlines

The upcoming deadlines for submitting Forms 1094 and 1095 B or C are as follows:

To Individuals:

Both Form 1095-B and 1095-C are due to the person identified as the “responsible individual” by January 31, 2018.

MedCost is not a tax preparation company, and you may have additional tax obligations for other benefit plans that you offer to your employees. Please consult with your tax advisor for guidance.This blog post should not be considered as legal advice.

Please note, the portion of the form related to the PCORI fees is unaffected. While Form 720 is filed quarterly for other federal excise taxes, the PCORI fee reporting and payment are only required annually, by July 31 of the year following the calendar year in which the applicable policy or plan year ended. The change noted at the beginning of the form is related to the excise taxes.

As background, PCORI fees, used to fund research on patient-centered outcomes, apply to plan and policy years ending before October 1, 2019. They are payable by insurers and sponsors of self-insured health plans, and are calculated by multiplying the applicable dollar amount for the year by the average number of covered lives. As announced in IRS Notice 2016-64, the fees owed in 2017 are as follows:

For plan years** ending on or after October 1, 2015, and before October 1, 2016: $2.17 per covered life

For plan years** ending on or after October 1, 2016, and before October 1, 2017: $2.26 per covered life

If you have already filed and used the form posted prior to the most recent update, please contact a tax professional on whether refiling is necessary.

*If you downloaded the Form 720 (Rev. April 2017) before July 3, 2017, please note that on page 2, under IRS No. 33, the rate is corrected to 12% of the sales price, not 12% of the sales tax.)

*’*Plan year’ is generally the 12-month period stated in the Summary Plan Description, or for plans filing a Form 5500, the plan year stated in that filing. NOTE: The plan year may be different from the benefit year or the renewal period.

“There are three primary areas that employers should keep in mind when thinking about compliance for their health plan,” said Brad Roehrenbeck, General Counsel and VP of Legal Services and Compliance at MedCost.

1. Employment Retirement Income Security Act

“The first of those is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974(ERISA), which governs employer-sponsored benefit plans. ERISA was a law created in the early 1970s that has been applied to basically set the rules for how an employer that creates their own health plan should do that.”

Michael Berwanger, Director of Quality Management and Compliance, agreed. “ERISA requires several things of plan sponsors and plan administrators. One of those things is to provide notices of what benefits are available to employees. The types of notices that you might expect with the summary plan document are any tax filing notices you might need to be aware of.

“This is to make employees aware of the rights available to them under ERISA. And with the right service provider, employers can feel confident knowing they’re distributing the right notices in the right formats.

2. HIPAA Compliance

“The second area of compliance for self-funded employers is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA requires that you safeguard patient data. Employers might find themselves subject to certain HIPAA rules; and with the right service provider, it could be relatively easy to navigate those waters.”

Keeping track of privacy obligations with documents that contain patient information is very important, said Brad Roehrenbeck. “Another thing that HIPAA requires is that anyone who handles that information, particularly if it’s electronic, must keep it secure. That basically means that you have to have systems in place that control who has access to that type of information, if you’re keeping it on your systems.

“HR directors want to make sure that they work with their IT departments to look at what kind of controlsare in place, who has access to any folders where patient data is maintained, or anything else in relation to running the health plan. The HR department keeps that sensitive member information for the plan.

3. Internal Revenue Service Compliance

“The third primary area of the law that impacts health plans is tax laws. Like other types of benefit plans, health plans come with a tax benefit to both employees and employers. As dollars go in to support the plan, those dollars are provided on a tax-free basis.”

“There’s one other area of the tax laws that actually provides some additional benefit to employers and employees, and that is this concept of a Health Savings Account (HSA). Health savings accounts are a great vehicle under the tax laws where employees can set aside dollars and employers can contribute dollars on a tax-free basis. Those monies can be used toward deductibles and the payment of claims. Employees can keep that money for the rest of their lives or until such time as they need to use that for their medical expenses.

“HSAs are a great asset for employees and a great savings vehicle. More importantly, it’s a great avenue for employers to engage with participants in the health plans to be conscious of where their health plan dollars are spent and to use them in a way that not only promotes their own health, but also the financial stability and viability and strength of both their dollars and the health plan dollars,” Mr. Roehrenbeck said.

“As the markets continue to move towards a consumer-driven economy, it’s important for employees to be mindful of their options and how to best take advantage of the benefits available through their employers,” Mr. Berwanger noted.

“We find ourselves in a challenging environment. It’s important to be able to offer great incentives and great packages to employees. A self-funded health plan is a great opportunity to be able to do that.

“The risk can be worth the reward. Managing those compliance obligations isn’t as complicated as you might think, once you have a good trusted advisor to help you navigate that.”

By Michael Berwanger,JD, Director, Quality Management & Compliance

PCORI Required by ACA

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes provisions to promote research by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) that will provide information on the relative strengths and weaknesses of various medical interventions. This initiative is being funded by a tax that must be paid by insurers and plan sponsors of self-funded health plans. Per IRS Guidance, for self-insured and/or self-funded plans ending in 2016, filing and payment must be submitted to the IRS by July31, 2017. The fees owed in 2017 are as follows:

For plan years* ending on or after October 1, 2015, and before October 1, 2016: $2.17 per covered life

For plan years* ending on or after October 1, 2016, and before October 1, 2017: $2.26 per covered life

*’Plan year’ is generally the 12-month period stated in the Summary Plan Description, or for plans filing a Form 5500, the plan year stated in that filing. NOTE: The plan year may be different from the benefit year or the renewal period.

PCORI Fee Payments

Under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)final rule, plan sponsors are responsible for paying the fee, which is treated as an excise tax by the IRS. A Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return (Form 720) must be used when reporting liability for the fee. The form can be accessed athttp://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f720.pdf.Instructions for completing and filing the form can be accessed at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i720.pdf. Completion of the form is relatively simple. As described here, only the relevant parts of the form need to be completed, which include:

Additional Tips

The following information may be helpful in determining your tax obligation under the PCORI provision:

The plan sponsor must apply a single calculation method in determining the average number of lives covered under the plan for the entire plan year. However, the plan sponsor is not required to use the same method from one plan year to the next.

HRA and Self-Insured Plans: A self-insured Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) is not subject to a separate fee if the HRA is integrated with another applicable self-insured health plan that provides major medical coverage. The HRA and the other plan must be established or maintained by the same plan sponsor with the same plan year.

However, if a self-insured HRA is integrated with an insured group health plan, then the fee must be paid for both the self-insured product and the insured product.

Excepted Benefits: Excepted benefits (as defined under section 9832c of the U.S. Code) are exempt from the fee, as is a health Flexible Spending Account (FSA) that satisfies the requirements of an excepted benefit.

All plans that provide medical coverage to employees owe this fee. The insurer/carrier for fully-insured plans will pay the fee (typically, the fee is passed on to the plan). The plan sponsor for self-funded plans will pay the fee. Note, there is no exception for small employers, government, church or not-for-profit plans, nor for grandfathered plans or union plans. The fee is tax-deductible.

For more information, see:IRS FAQor IRS chart that shows which plans owe the fee.

NOTE: MedCost is not a tax preparation company, and you may have additional tax obligations for other benefit plans that you offer to your employees. Please consult with your tax advisor for guidance.This blog post should not be considered as tax or legal advice.

ByMichael Berwanger, JD, Director, Quality Management & Compliance

The contribution, deductible and out-of-pocket limitations for 2018 are shown in the table below. All of these amounts are scheduled to increase from 2017. (The 2017 limits are included for reference.)

By Michael Berwanger, JD, Director, Quality Management & Compliance

On December 31, 2016, Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered a nationwide injunction in FranciscanAlliance v. Burwell. The order prohibited the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from enforcing certain provisions of its nondiscrimination rule promulgated under ACA section 1557, namely those that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of pregnancy.

The remaining provisions of the rule—prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability, race, color, age, national origin, or sex other than gender identity—are in effect as scheduled, mostly beginning January 1, 2017.

MedCost published a summary of Section 1557 here. HHS has published a summary here and FAQs here. Section 1557 applies antidiscrimination laws to entities receiving assistance under certain federal agencies. These rules have required various plan changes from self-funded plans to implement the protections afforded under the rules.

In the December 31 ruling, Judge O’Connor stated that “[w]hile this lawsuit involves many issues of great importance—state sovereignty, expanded healthcare coverage, anti-discrimination protections, and medical judgment—ultimately, the question before the Court is whether Defendants exceeded their authority under the ACA in the challenged regulations’ interpretation of sex discrimination and whether the regulation violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as applied to Private Plaintiffs.”

Finding that HHS exceeded its authority under the ACA, he enjoined the agency from enforcing the provisions of Section 1557 regarding plan changes for nondiscrimination on the basis of gender identity and pregnancy termination until further judicial or legislative action.

For more information about Section 1557, consult your broker, legal advisor or the Department of Health and Human Services.

By Michael Berwanger, JD, Director, Quality Management & Compliance

In early 2017, employers and insurance carriers must report information to employees and the IRS about coverage offered to employees under employer-sponsored health plans during calendar year 2016.

Background

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires self-funded employers to satisfy two reporting obligations under Sections 6055 and 6056 of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to health coverage offered to employees and about those employees who are covered under the plan.

The purpose of the reporting obligations is to allow the IRS access to data needed to monitor compliance with both the employer and individual mandates. The reporting also may be used by affected employees in assessing their own compliance with the individual mandate and/or in seeking subsidized coverage on the federal and state exchanges established under the ACA (as described in this blog post).

Section 6055 Reporting Compliance

Under Section 6055 of the Internal Revenue Code, all self-funded employers must annually report information to the IRS and to any individual who is covered under a health plan offered by the employer.

Currently, many employers do not have access to Social Security numbers for non-employed dependents, creating a fairly significant compliance burden to collect that data. The regulations require that employers exercise “reasonable collection efforts” to obtain that information. (Typically, an employer will satisfy that standard by documenting at least two efforts to request the data from those individuals). This same information must be reported to employees, along with basic contact information for the employer.

Section 6056 Reporting Compliance

The second reporting obligation, under CodeSection 6056, applies only to “Applicable Large Employers.” Applicable Large Employers are those employers with at least 50 full-time equivalent employees and to whom the ACA’s employer mandate applies.

Unlike Section 6055 reporting, all of this information also must be provided separately to each employee, full-time, part-time, or otherwise. You can read helpful IRS guidance about 6056 reportinghere.

IRS Forms 1094 and 1095

The compliance obligations are complex, and the IRS has developed forms (Forms 1094-B, 1095-B, 1094-C, and 1095-C) to provide consistency in reporting and to help simplify the process for employers.

Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) who offer coverage under a self-funded health plan may use Form 1095-C, which combines the reporting obligations of Sections 6055 and 6056 in a single form for reporting to both the IRS and individuals. When the forms are provided to the IRS, the Applicable Large Employer also must submit a transmittal form, Form 1094-C. Forms 1095-C and 1094-C, along with instructions, can be accessedhere.

Small employers with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees are only required to meet one of the reporting obligations, the Minimum Essential Coverage reporting under Section 6055. Small employers may use Form 1095-B, with transmittal Form 1094-B. These forms, along with instructions, can be accessed on the IRS web site here.

Changes from reporting year 2015 to 2016 for forms 1094-C and 1095-C can be found here.

Changes from reporting year 2015 to 2016 for forms 1094-B and 1095-B can be found here.

Compliance Deadline

Filings will begin in early 2017 for the 2016 calendar year.

*Form 1095-C must be provided to all employees (full-time, part-time, or otherwise) by March 2, 2017.

*All Forms 1095-C, along with the transmittal form, 1094-C, must be provided to the IRS by February 28, 2017 (if in paper form), or March 31, 2017 (if filed electronically).

Note: Employers filing more than 250 information returns (Form 1095-C) must do so electronically.

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Does open enrollment for your Human Resources department seem like “Nightmare on Employment Street?” Our first post listed five practical tips to streamline the open enrollment period for annual benefits. Check out these five additional best practices to chase the confusion away:

1. Make sure you provide all of the data requested by your claims administrator.

Inaccurate or incomplete data can result in time-consuming, frustrating mistakes. Remember to enter information exactly as provided in previous enrollments. Unique and accurate identifying information must be entered for each dependent.

2. Collect waiver forms from your employees.

For ACA reporting and Department of Labor requirements, you as the employer need to keep proof of waived coverage on file. Here is aCompliance Assistance Guidefrom the U. S. Department of Labor that offers more information. MedCost provides our clients with a generic form as part of our benefits’ services, if clients do not have one.

3. If you submit updated enrollment data on paper forms or by spreadsheet, information on new hires, changes, and terminations is all that is needed.

It may seem counterintuitive, but full enrollment data is not required and can actually slow down the input process for your claims administrator.

Note: This does not apply to clients that electronically submit enrollment data via 834 transaction.

4. When open enrollment is over, it’s over—no extensions.

Stick with the open enrollment deadline you set. Announce the deadline and remind employees of it several times during the open enrollment period. It is then the employees’ responsibility to complete the required enrollment process by the deadline. Remember, open enrollment is a finite time period, not an ongoing process.

5. Once you’ve collected enrollment data, submit it all at one time.

Submitting information piecemeal or in multiple spreadsheets that have to be merged or compared to previous submissions only increases the chance for errors. Avoid confusion with one complete submission of enrollment data.

Don’t let your open enrollment become a nightmare. Competent claims administrators can help advise you of all compliance requirements and deadlines. And turn your nightmares into sweet dreams.

It’s that time of the year that presents headaches for HR professionals and admin staff—open enrollment. But your company’s benefits administration doesn’t have to resemble a Halloween Fright Night. Here are five best practices to streamline your employees’ enrollment period and leave you with a basket of sweet candy:

1. Create a realistic schedule for open enrollment by beginning with the end in mind.

Your open enrollment period should end no later than 30 days prior to the end of your plan year or renewal date. Once you determine the ending date of open enrollment, back up from there to schedule open enrollment meetings, print forms or materials, distribute or mail open enrollment packets, etc.

2. Collect all required information for each plan participant (employee or dependent).

This may include information for each plan participant such as:

Last Name, First Name and Middle Initial (exactly as provided in previous enrollments)

Social Security Number (unique and accurate identifying information for each dependent)

Address

Date of Birth (unique and accurate identifying information for each dependent)

Gender

Hire Date (if an employee)

Coverage Effective Date

Product Coverage (Medical, Dental, Flex)

Date of Termination, if applicable, and Reason for Term (especially needed for COBRA)

E-mail address (useful to promote programs and services available through benefits plan)

3. Remind employees that “good data in equals good data out.”

Stress the importance of completing all fields on any enrollment or waiver forms. It’s in every plan participant’s best interest to review and verify new and existing data during open enrollment since it directly affects coverage for the upcoming plan year. Decisions regarding participants’ eligibility and coverage under the health plan—as well as that of their dependents—are made based on the information provided during open enrollment.

4. Educate employees about the “not-so-flexible” guidelines of flexible spending accounts (FSAs), if available through your plan.

In addition to the advantages of flexible spending accounts, make sure your employees also know about the guidelines for FSAs. The most important thing for employees to remember is that FSAs are “use it or lose it” accounts. Contributions made to an FSA during a calendar year can be used only for eligible expenses incurred during the same year—unless your plan provides for either a grace period or a carryover. If your plan doesn’t provide for a carryover, employees need to be aware that any money remaining in an FSA account after the claim filing period at the end of the year (and after the grace period, if applicable) is forfeited in accordance with IRS regulations.

5. If your employees have flex debit cards, remind them to save all receipts for purchases made with the card.

Since a flex debit card deducts payment for an eligible health care expense directly from an FSA account, employees may think that saving health care receipts is unnecessary. Some claims for reimbursement, however, may require substantiation. Encourage employees to save all receipts for flex debit card purchases in case they receive a substantiation request or their tax return is audited by the IRS. Employees should hold on to their cards even if the allocated FSA total amount has already been used.

Our next blog will contain five more tips to plan and prepare for open enrollment like a pro. Subscribe to our blog to receive it automatically!*

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